Detectives from the Osage Beach Department of Public Safety were honored by Missouri Missing on Monday for their roles in helping solve the disappearance and death of Brandi Mathews. After endless hours of work chasing countless leads and a limitless supply of dedication, Mathews’ old boyfriend is in jail after being charged with her murder.

Detectives from the Osage Beach Department of Public Safety were honored by Missouri Missing on Monday for their roles in helping solve the disappearance and death of Brandi Mathews. After endless hours of work chasing countless leads and a limitless supply of dedication, Mathews’ old boyfriend is in jail after being charged with her murder.

Seeing Kelly R. Simino, of Eldon, locked up is exactly what Mathews would have wanted, Mathews’ mom, Deanna Roberts, said.

“She wanted it so much she was working with police to make it happen,” Roberts said. “So, I know she’s looking down following everything that’s happening.”

Roberts was on hand on Monday to present the plaque to officers Sgt. Terry Deffenbaugh, Kevin Friend and Tracy Robinett and thank them for their service.

The plaque was a small token of Roberts’ appreciation for the diligence they maintained while working her daughter’s case.

Roberts first met the officers in 2008 after she contacted the department about finding her daughter, who had been missing from the Eldon area since September of 2006.

Roberts said she still sought answers surrounding her daughter’s disappearance, so she filed a missing persons report with the department. In January 2009, Mathews’ remains were found in a creek just outside Eldon.

Each of the officers described Roberts as the driving force behind the investigation.

“She’s been the fuel behind the fire the whole way,” Tracy Robinett said.

Roberts maintained contact with the officers over the years through a steady stream of emails, phone calls and meetings. As Simino’s court dates and trial dates draw close, the contact has continued.

“I’m going to see this through to the end,” Roberts said. “It’s what Brandi would have wanted.”